ELSBETH
My birthday dinner was everything I wanted and more.
Anissa, Eileen, and I curled up on the couch and watched a whole season of a teenaged girl falling for a vampire, only to become entangled in a love triangle with a demon.
We all decided that their ultimate solution would be to form a polycule, but, as always, monogamy got in the way.
Not that I have any room to talk. I had one boyfriend in high school and it was a miracle that I managed to lose my virginity after secretly dating him for six months.
My mother preached continuously about keeping myself pure of human male attention.
To her, any interest I have in nonmagical relationships is pointless and selfish.
That rule does not apply to her. My mother fulfilled her end of the prophecy by seducing the powerful witch and using his seed to conceive me. Her own lamb for the slaughter. The sperm donor was long gone before the test turned pink.
When Alric’s interests faded and he no longer saw her as useful, Saraphina Noyce-Hale went through a new man every week until she found one with a fat enough bank account to support her lavish lifestyle.
Letting my mother drive herself insane with unrequited lust is the only gift that Alric has given me that I cherish.
Because the only time I hear from her outside our designated call time is when she needs to “borrow” magic that I don’t truly own.
I treat Alric’s magic like any other substance: I indulge sparingly.
Last night’s astral projection used the gift he’d given me three months ago to congratulate me for passing my finals.
Usually, I hoard every last drop for a rainy day—or in this case night.
Alric, of course, thinks I’m stupid enough to use it as he’s given it to me, but he can continue to believe I’m an airhead loyalist.
This morning, I’m up earlier than usual for a workout.
With some of Alric’s magic still tingling at the tips of my fingers, I know I need to sweat it out of my system quickly or it’ll make me sick.
The only benefit of having to use that man’s power is that it gives my face an ethereal glow.
Which makes me feel like less of a slob for not going through the full hour ritual of becoming a gym goddess to catch the attention of Hawthorne Bishop.
I scan the large open cardio area for any sign of him. It’s too early for Hawthorne to be here, but rejected men do desperate things.
After ditching our normal gym dates and ignoring his messages, it’s only a matter of time before Thorne comes looking. All I have to do is keep showing up where he expects me to be.
Five minutes into my warmup, I take the StairMaster two steps at a time for a slow and deliberate pace.
The burning in my thighs isn’t intense enough yet to get the memory of Fox’s hand reaching for me out of my head.
Thorne is cocky and so full of himself that he can’t see beyond his own ego.
Maddox is the book nerd who doesn’t want to grow up.
Asher is the quintessential bad boy he thinks he is.
He’s quiet, calculating, and so self-absorbed that he’s oblivious. But Fox . . .
Tapping into his dream felt all too personal. I can’t shake it. So, I’m taking out my white-hot anger on the equipment.
After I move on to the leg press, the burn I’ve been chasing blooms from my thighs to my core as I push the platform up then let it glide back into place.
My abs shake and sweat breaks out over my chest, but all I can think about is the legacies.
I can’t escape the fascination that I have with the four of them.
For longer than I care to remember, I’ve hated them.
Hated that their ancestors hunted mine down through the decades to ensure the Hales never reclaimed their rightful place in the coven hierarchy.
That fury was passed down through the generations to equip me with what I need to destroy them.
I’m prepared to fight, but aside from horny, they aren’t the bloodthirsty monsters I’ve been armed against.
My strength gives out before the thoughts of my four enemies do and I lose the fight against the fifty-pound weights.
The platform drives my knees into my already aching chest and the wind is knocked out of my exhausted lungs.
I practically fall out of the seat and have to catch my breath before I get to my feet.
It takes me a few seconds, but I trust that my legs will keep me upright long enough to gulp down water.
It’s time to shower and rest before my first class, but when I turn around, I catch sight of the back of Thorne’s head.
His golden waves bounce as he pulls on the weight machine he’s sitting at.
My stomach drops and I duck behind the StairMaster next to me.
How long has he been here? Has he seen me?
I peek around the machine to see another guy come to stand next to Thorne. He’s not as tall, but he’s just as muscular. His dark hair is damp with sweat and his soaking wet shirt is flung over his broad shoulder.
It’s Fox. I can feel it.
What in the fuck?
Stepping around the guides of the machine, I get a better view of the two of them.
Fox’s arm muscles bulge as he brings his water bottle up to his lips.
Thorne is as handsome as any other “Ralph Lauren rich guy” walking around campus.
But Fox has a dark edge to him. His facial structure and the way his thick brows weigh on his features gives his eyes a shadow.
I’m sure women in their coven make sure his bed is rarely cold.
Fox’s reclusive behavior made it difficult to reach him in person and, even more so, in his subconscious.
Physical proximity, I learned, will affect how strong my presence is.
Without proper training or the immense library that’s being hoarded in the legacy manor, I can only sharpen my skills by practicing and—often—failing.
I expected Thorne to come alone, so what are they doing here together?
As discretely as possible, I make my way toward the women’s locker room.
Confronting the both of them here in public is too spontaneous for my liking, so hiding until they leave is the only plan I can come up with.
I have class in an hour with Asher and I have to arrive with the majority of our peers for my concealment charm to let me attend unnoticed.
I focus on the narrow walkway between machines and make a beeline, but just before I reach the door, I hear my name from behind me. “Elsbeth! Hey, girl, hey!”
I spin around to find Rachel Beckman from my and Asher’s poli-lit class jogging over to me, looking too chipper for 7 AM.
“I didn’t know you came to this gym.” She bounces on the balls of her feet, her blonde ponytail whipping around like the tail of some expensive, overbred dog.
“Yeah, it’s convenient and all the jocks tend to stick to the other side of campus, so it’s quieter,” I answer, peeking around her to see Thorne and Fox heading our way.
“Convenient and where all the hot intellectuals work out, huh?” She winks and looks over her shoulder just as Thorne meets my eyes. “Speak of the devils themselves. Hi, Hawthorne.”
He drags his eyes from mine and gives Rachel a polite smile. “Didn’t realize I was the devil. Our date must have been pretty terrible.”
“Awkward,” Rachel whispers and moves to stand between us to get a better view of not only my reddening face, but Thorne and Fox.
“Interesting that you’d come to that conclusion by a passing comment.” I try to smile to take the edge off my words.
“You haven’t returned any of my texts, and you’re coming to the gym earlier than usual.” He shrugs. “Just using my keen skills of pattern recognition to formulate an outcome.”
“So, you get rejected often enough to see a pattern?” I tilt my head, my arms crossed tight to my water bottle at my chest.
Rachel snickers. “Ouch. I didn’t realize there was history here.” She moves closer to him and rolls her shoulders. “I can’t imagine anyone rejecting you, Hawthorne.”
His eyes roll down her face to her sports bra then back up to me. “Maybe Elsbeth can give us both insight as to why she won’t let me take her out again.”
“My coursework was heavy this week. I needed time to catch up and I’ve barely touched my phone,” I say only to Thorne because now Rachel is being dragged into something that, if she gets in my way, will get her killed.
He smirks. The ghost of a dimple appears at the corner of his mouth.
“What?” Rachel pipes up between us. “We don’t have assignments due until the end of the month.”
Thorne raises his brows, feigning surprise at Rachel’s unwanted addition to our conversation.
“Hey.” Fox reaches between us and pushes Thorne to the side. “I’m Thorne’s roommate, and as much of an ass as he’s being at the moment, he can’t stop talking about you. So, maybe now that your homework’s done, you could think about another date?”
I raise my chin, leveling him with my best “back the fuck up” scowl.
“Are you his wingman?”
“He’s never needed one before.”
I see the flash of something that looks like recognition in his eyes.
Our interaction last night is still too fresh.
More real than déjà vu but foggier than a memory.
He knows who I am, and I hold my breath until he figures out what to do with that information.
We’re in a public place with a lot of nonmagical ears and eyes around.
Rachel pops her hip and points to Fox. “You don’t go to school with us, do you?”
“No, the Ivy League wasn’t for me.” Fox looks at her but takes a step closer to me. “Thorne and I go way back. We’ve been roommates for a long time.”
“I thought you and Asher Morey were roommates?” Rachel swings her accusatory finger to Thorne.
“It’s a big house.” Fox gives her a wolfish grin. “Though, it sounds like you already knew that. You’re a friend of Asher’s, then?”
Rachel’s face turns bright red. Are they more involved than a random bathroom fuck? She’s been making eyes at him during class and flirting with him any chance she gets. But Asher will never marry outside the coven. He’s only using her for novelty.
“We’ve just chatted a bit during our study group.” Her attitude melts away and she sinks in on herself. “Anyway, I should get to my workout before classes.”
She plugs her earbuds into her ears without waiting for anyone to bid her goodbye.
Fox watches her walk toward the aisle between machines before swinging back to look at me. This time, I can feel the searing question in his eyes on my skin.
“You weren’t wrong, Thorne. Elsbeth is hotter than your last girl.”
I narrow my gaze on him. “How is that any of my business?”
“You should know who you’re getting into bed with.” His smirk softens his brow. “Having all the facts could save you from becoming another notch in his bedpost.”
“To become one in yours?”
His face makes a “maybe” expression before his roguish smile returns.
“Getting a bit off track, aren’t we?” Thorne intervenes, gripping Fox’s elbow and pulling him back a step.
“He’s jealous because he can see we have a real connection.” Fox gives me a wink, and the growing pit of snakes in my gut writhes.
How dare he act like he knows me as more than some woman his friend took out on a date. If he thinks he can make me feel swoony, he has hell coming.
“I’ll text you later,” I say to Thorne, turn on my heels, and head to the ladies locker room.
“Let’s cut out the middleman and I’ll give you my number right now.” Fox’s voice rises behind me and I realize he’s sprinting over to reach me.
Whatever this is, it ends now.
Cornering me together is one thing, but flirting with me like this only stirs the last dredges of Alric’s magic I have left. It wells at my fingertips lead heavy and makes me all too aware of its potential.
I have to get away from them, but I’m trapped.
Fox plants a hand on the wall and stands between me and the locker room door. And like any predator in a cage, I will claw and bite my way out.
“I’m not interested. In you or Thorne at this point,” I snap, refusing to meet his eyes.
He’s so close. I can feel the heat from his chest radiating off him. The smell of his sweat mixes with stale cologne and something else. Earthy. Pungent. He’s a blanket of moss on the forest floor next to a raging bonfire. Wild and serene but dangerous when unconfined.
“Are you sure?”
“Very. And I have pepper spray if you need further convincing.” I take a small step back, but he follows, invading my space and making my head swim.
“Point made.” His voice lowers. “I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with seeing you in my dreams.”
Air catches in my throat, but in the time it takes for my brain and mouth to reconnect, he’s gone. He rejoins Thorne and the two of them wander off to finish their workouts. I disappear into the locker room, forgo a shower, and dress as quickly as I can before rushing to the front door.
I wasn’t expecting to have to add Fox to my plans just yet, not before making a lasting impression on Asher. I could wait for class, but then Fox and Thorne could find him before I do. I can’t let that happen. Without looking back, I dash out the door and cross campus.